dream:scape

Warning: in_array() expects parameter 2 to be array, null given in /home/wp_bh2xmh/slidetoplay.com/wp-content/themes/litemag-child/inc/widgets/bl_gameheader_stp.php on line 66

Warning: in_array() expects parameter 2 to be array, null given in /home/wp_bh2xmh/slidetoplay.com/wp-content/themes/litemag-child/inc/widgets/bl_gameheader_stp.php on line 69dream:scape is a game from , originally released 31st December, 1969

In Dream:scape, life doesn’t flash before your eyes when you die. Instead, your memory is wiped clean, and you have to piece the events back together. In the game you play as Wilson, a man who just passed away, and you find yourself all alone in the rural landscape of your childhood. As you explore, you trigger memories that build on one another and form the story of your life, possibly including things you were unaware of when you were alive. This is one of the most interesting setups we’ve seen in an iOS game, and the story kept us intrigued the whole way through.

Dream:scape is very much an adventure game. Your main guide through the game is a blank diary with locations scrawled at the top of each page. You’re instructed to go to each one in order. So when you begin, you’ll see that the first page says ‘The Old Cabin.’ If you look around, you’ll see an old cabin just across a gravel road from your starting point. When you walk over to the cabin, you find the door locked. This cues a memory of a child’s voice talking about a hidden key. Wander around, and you’ll find the key, which lets you inside, where another audio memory will start to shed light on your childhood.

Need a fill up?

Once you leave the cabin, the diary page is filled in with text that further explains the part of your life that took place there. You’ll also find an item that will help you unlock the next location. And so the game goes: as you uncover each new place– the farm house, the church, the air field– you’ll gradually come to understand the story of your life and what became of your friends. At about the halfway point the story edges toward dark and mysterious material, making it all the more compelling.

As gorgeous Dream:scape looks– watch the trailer below to see it in motion– the atmosphere of the game wouldn’t be nearly as immersive without the audio. The voice acting is very good, and the environmental effects are top-of-the-line. You’ll hear water rushing, music playing, thunderstorms approaching, church bells ringing, and much more as you explore the game world. You’d be doing a major disservice to yourself if you play this game without headphones.

The controls are very straightforward. Picking up and using items happens automatically and there’s hardly any fighting, so all you really need to worry about is looking around and walking. To do that, you’re given two analog sticks in the bottom corners of the screen that control your movement and the camera. If you don’t want to use the stick to control the camera, you can move it by dragging your thumb around on the screen. That’s how we preferred to play, so we’d like to see them add an option to remove the right analog stick altogether.

Any given Sunday.

A slightly bigger complaint is the in-game map. It’s basically a pencil drawing that you can pull up any time you want, but it lacks detail, so it’s not quite sufficient to get you where you want to go at first. With a bit of wandering around, however, you’ll get a sense of where things are. The game world is fairly large, but don’t expect anything near the size of Aralon. This game has a more personal story to tell, and until you get far enough in the story, you’ll find many areas that are closed off to you.

Where to go next as you play isn’t always obvious, but by listening to the world around you and looking for clues where you feel compelled to go, it’s entirely possible to get through the game without using the walkthrough available on the developer’s website. Our play-through of Dream:scape lasted about 90 minutes, but your mileage may vary depending on how fast you find the items necessary to progress.

Dream:scape is a truly immersive experience that gives almost a tangible feeling of loneliness and growing despair as you make your way through the game. The developer has employed some really clever and poignant storytelling ideas, giving the game an emotional impact well beyond what you’ll find in almost any other iOS game. The graphics are incredible, the sound production is stellar, and the story is compelling. If you enjoy adventure games like Myst, be sure to check this one out.

More stories on dream:scape

Support our sponsors

Advertisement

Our Awesome Email Newsletter

Enter your email to subscribe to our daily email on what's hot in mobile games. Or, take a look at the archive.

Email Address *

And it of course should go without saying, but we'll say it just to make it 100% clear -- we will never share your email address with anyone.

Connect with us

Latest Recommended Games

Industrial Toys has released it’s follow-up to the great Midnight Star. In Renegade, a much more casual game, the focus is on short bursts of play and the never-ending constant upgrading of weapons and gear. This game brings the great controls for a mobile FPS that the previous version had, but focuses less on the story and more on the frantic gameplay.

Heroes of Loot 2 is an update to the original that brings even more to love of the original. This time around the player chooses two player types to take into the dungeon, switching between them in the game as needed.

Heroes of Loot 2 is 50% off right now for launch.

After their job, of keeping the dungeons in balance, was done, our heroes needed a new job. Roaming the lands they found a call for heroes, a castle in need, possible even a damsel in distress?

Pick two heroes to take into the adventure, controlling both heroes and using their special skills to navigate the dangerous castle hallways, rooms and floors. Switching between the two characters to solve quests, puzzles, and of course clear the dungeons of all evil.

Human Resources Corporation, from some of the same fine folks that brought us World of Goo is a puzzle games that makes some of the basics of programming into a fun little exercise.

The premise is that the player is a new recruit in a corporation that need to tell other in game characters how to move and act by giving a set of program commands to complete tasks. It’s a great introduction to the logic used in programming and a fun little game with great personality. Which is expected considering the team that created this.

Temple Run 2 has done it again. Expanded into a whole new world with the Blazing Sands expansion. Available now in the game.

Touch Arcade notes:

It’s called “Blazing Sands,” and as you can see from the above trailer, you’ll be running through canyons along side raging rapids and Egyptian-y looking statues while marauding vines are smacking you in the face… Which really isn’t much of a surprise as vines in video games seem to be jerks almost 100% of the time. Of course there’s new stuff to unlock too between new outfits and Blazing Sands artifacts. If you collect ’em all, you’ll even get a swanky new hat.

From Martin Magni, the developer of the great Odd Bot Out, Mekorama hit the App Store this week. This charming puzzle game has the player guide a robot through a series of very unique 3D puzzles. The puzzles have shades of Monument Valley without the Escher inspired vibe.

One of the features that really sets this game apart from others is the integrated level editor. This lets players create their own levels and share them via a simple QR code integrated image. Take a look at the new levels shared on Twitter with the #Mekorama hashtag. I’ve even created one to test the path finding skills of that little robot.

Mekorama is free in the App Store with a pay what you want price model.

There have been a lot of games that have aped the style of Monument Valley, but not that have really gotten the idea and complexity of the game. That is until Evo Explores. Evo Explores really understand the game and does a great job of adding puzzle types to the original that it unashamedly takes inspiration from. It’s so good that members of the Monument Valley team have remarked how impressed they are.

But beside that, the game can stand on its own as well. It’s a great suspension of belief type puzzler with new and interesting mechanics and is just plain fun. The story that goes along is a little weak, but then again that’s just a small part of the game. Well worth a download.

Support our sponsors

Apple, the Apple logo, Apple Watch, iPad, iPhone, and Apple TV are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Other terms may be trademarks of their respective companies.